Victim Advocate Specialist

Respond to crisis situations 24/7 when needed, having the ability to assess a victim's safety and needs at the time of the incident, and the ability to communicate effectively with law enforcement officers. Provide on-scene crisis intervention, support, inform and referrals for victims of crime in the cities of Brighton, Commerce City, Fort Lupton, and Lochbuie. This position must work well independently and with teams while providing excellent, respectful customer service and human relations skills which support the City of Brighton’s mission and values.

Responsibilities

• Assists victims in understanding and coping with their situations and contacting pertinent parties such as friends, family, health care professionals, law enforcement officers or attorneys.
• Provides a wide variety of case management services for victims of crime and personal tragedy.
• Reads and interprets police reports, assessing the needs of victims and their families and making recommendations.
• Acts as liaison between victims and witnesses, law enforcement officers, prosecutors, social service agencies, and offices of the courts.
• Provides victims/witnesses with information on Crime Victims Rights, criminal justice processes and procedures; provides victims with factual updates during the investigation and criminal proceedings.
• Makes referrals to other agencies or organizations as warranted.
• Assists victims or their families with victim compensation and financial assistance applications, appeals, restitution process or civil remedies.
• Maintains statistical data for grant reporting; prepares reports documenting case management.
• Ability to effectively use the Language Line when the primary language of the victim is not English.
• Research and compiles lists of community resources and referrals available to victims.
• Represents the Brighton Office for Victim Assistance on various boards, committees, and task forces as assigned.
• Works extra hours as needed; on call is required.
• Must be able to respond from time of call to location of incident within 30 minutes.
• Performs other duties as needed and assigned.

Qualifications

• Knowledge of: State of Colorado criminal justice system; State of Colorado Crime Victims’ Rights Act; Policies, procedures and goals of the Brighton Office for Victim Assistance and their police departments; Principles, practices, and techniques of crisis intervention; Community services available to crime victims and ability to assist victims with appropriate resources.
• Ability to: Intervene in crises, assessing victims' needs and applying appropriate resources; Provide factual case updates to victims in an accurate and timely manner; Assist victims in applying for victim compensation, and other financial assistance; Use a two-way radio; Comprehend and apply standards and guidelines of victim advocacy including the National Organization of Victim Assistance (NOVA) code of ethics and the Colorado state constitution for Victims’ Rights; Interpret, understand and apply applicable laws, statutes, ordinances, regulations, and policies; Use standard office equipment, computer equipment and software including word processing, data base management, spreadsheet applications and electronic mail; Listen well and communicate effectively orally and in writing with various audiences; Establish and maintain effective working relationships with city employees, law enforcement agencies, courts, Department of Human Services, legal representatives and the general public.

Education and Experience: Bachelor’s Degree in related field; two years’ experience in victim advocacy; combinations of education and experience may be considered.

Preferred Qualifications: National Advocate Credentialing Program (NACP) certification.

Physical Requirements: Physical ability to perform essential job functions: while performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to sit, stand, walk, talk, hear, see and demonstrate manual dexterity; occasionally required to kneel, stoop, and perform light lifting, up to 20 lbs.

Special Requirements: Possession of valid driver’s license with safe driving record. Bilingual in English/Spanish Preferred. Ability to complete FEMA ISC 100 and IS 700 training within six (6) months of hire.